Collapsible hanger

ABSTRACT

A collapsible hanger has a pair of hanger arms for supporting an article of clothing. Each arm has a proximal end pivotally mounted on a frame. A gear mechanism engages gear teeth on the proximal end of the arms and causes the arms to simultaneously rotate between a raised position to a lowered position. A locking mechanism locks the arms in the raised position and when the locking mechanism is released, allows the arms to drop down to a collapsed position, releasing the article of clothing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority of provisional patent application 61/395,979 filed May 21, 2010.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to a collapsible hanger that can be easily collapsed from a first position in which the arms of the hanger are in an upstanding horizontal position also referred to as being in the “up” position to a second position in which the arms are collapsed to a vertical position also referred to as the “down” position. The hanger thus serves at least two important functions. The first is that it can be easily collapsed for storage. The second is that the arms can be easily moved from the up position to the down position allowing the arms to be easily inserted into or removed from a garment that has a continuous open neck portion often called a crew neck or “v” neck. Such garments do not have a buttoned or zippered front that opens from the neck of the garment to the bottom of the garment, making it difficult to insert a conventional hanger into the neck of the garment without stretching the neck out of shape.

The inventive hanger comprises two collapsible arms, pivoted together at one end, so as to assume the two different positions, that is the extended raised or “up” position, where they support the garment and a collapsed or “down” position in which the garment is allowed to slide off the hanger by gravity.

The two arms are normally held and locked in the extended, raised position in which they support the garment by means of the arms of the hanger which are held in place by a latching mechanism. When the latching mechanism is released, the two arms swing downwardly, due to gravity and the weight of the garment, to the collapsed or down position allowing the garment to slide off the arms and the hanger.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the hanger in which the arms are in the extended or up position.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the circled area of FIG. 1 illustrating the pivoting locking tabs.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the hanger with the cover removed and rotated 180° showing the internal mechanism with the arms in the up position.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the internal pivoting and latching mechanism with the arms in the extended and locked position.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the internal pivoting and latching mechanism with the arms in the down and unlatched position.

FIG. 5A is a front elevation view of the hanger in which the arms are in the collapsed or down position with the cover removed and rotated 180°.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the hanger illustrating all of its components.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1 and 3 illustrate the inventive hanger 10 in the up position in which the hanger 10 can support a garment which is to be hung from a rod. The hanger 10 has a right arm 12 and a left arm 14. The length of the arms 12 and 14 is of such a length to support a shirt, sweater or other desired article of clothing when hung from the hanger 10. Each arm has a distal end 16 and a proximal end 18. The proximal end 18 has a central circular opening 20. Along a portion of the outer circumference of the proximal end 18 are a series of gear teeth 22. A hook 38 is at the top of the hanger 10 to hang the hanger 10 on a pole or bar as conventionally done with most hangers.

FIGS. 5 and 5A illustrate the hanger 10 in its collapsed or down position in which the garment can be slipped off of the arms of the hanger without stretching the collar of the garment. The distal ends 16 are adjacent to each other when the hanger is in this collapsed position. The hanger as seen in FIG. 5A can be easily stored in a suitcase for travel.

There is a base member or base frame 24 which is most clearly illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. The base member 24 has a pair of upstanding circular posts 26, 28. Each of the arms 12, 14 is mounted on one of the posts 26, 28 by means of one of the posts 26, 28 being inserted into the circular opening 20 at the proximal end as seen in FIGS. 3-5. The base member 24 also has at its top a pair of outstanding fingers 30, 32.

An important feature of the invention is a latching mechanism 34 that keeps the arms 12 and 14 in the extended position and can be released to allow the arms 12 and 14 to drop down into the collapsed position. The latching mechanism 34 is clearly illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. As previously described, the hook 38 is “c” shaped for hanging on a pole. There is a thumb rest 40 at the base of the hook 38. Extending downward from the thumb rest 40 is a vertically disposed rack 42 with a series of gear teeth 44 on both sides of the vertical disposed rack 42. The gear teeth 44 on the rack 42 engage the gear teeth 22 on the circumference of the proximal end 18 of each arm 12, 14 as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The latching mechanism 34 also has a pair of pivoting locking tabs 46, 48 on either side of the rack 42. The pivoting locking tabs 46, 48 have a fixed pivoting end 50 mounted just below the thumb rest 40. Opposite the fixed end 50 is a pivoting or free end 52. When a force is applied to the free end 52, it is free to flex or pivot about the fixed end 50. Between the fixed end 50 and the free end 52 is a shoulder 54 with a ledge 56. The shoulder is connected to the fixed end 50 by a neck portion 58. Preferably the locking tabs 46, 48 are made of plastic or a flexible metal so that the free end 50 can flex yet have a “memory” to cause it to return to its original position.

It is easy to operate the latching mechanism and cause the arms 12, 14 to move between the up, or latched position and the down or collapsed position. FIGS. 1 and 3 illustrate the arms 12, 14 in the up or raised position in which they are locked by the latching mechanism 34. As seen in FIG. 4, the pivotal locking tabs 46, 48 are in their normal outwardly extending position. The ledge 56 on the shoulder 54 rests against a toe portion 60 at the base of the fingers 30, 32. As the fingers 30, 32 are securely mounted to or formed with the base member 24, the fingers 30, 32 are stationary. The locking tabs 46, 48 are latched in this position.

To collapse the hanger 10, the user grasps the hook 38 with one hand and compresses the pivoting locking tabs 46, 48 with the other hand. This can easily be done by pinching the tabs 46, 48 toward each other with the user's thumb and index finger. The pivoting tabs 46, 48 pivot inward to allow the shoulder 54 to move over the toe portion 60. This releases the shoulder 54 from engagement with the toe 60 which releases the latching mechanism 34 from the locked position. The locking tabs 46, 48 clear the toes 60 on the fingers 30, 32. Gravity causes the arms 12, 14 to rotate about posts 26, 28 in the direction of arrow “A” in FIG. 5. The rack 42, hook 38 and pivoting arms 46, 48 are drawn upward in the direction of arrow “B” as the gears 22 on the arms 12, 14 rotate and drive the gears 44 on the rack 42 forcing the rack in the direction of arrow B. FIG. 5A illustrates the arms 12, 14 in the fully released or down position.

To raise the arms 12, 14, the user grasps the outstanding fingers 30, 32 with his index and middle finger and places his thumb on the thumb rest 40. This is similar to one grasping a syringe when giving an injection. The user applies a downward force opposite arrow B with his thumb and pulls up on the underside of fingers 30, 32 with his index and middle finger. This pushes the rack 42 downward and the tabs 46, 48 slide over a sloped ledge 49 on the fingers 30, 32. Once pushed far enough, the shoulder 54 extends past the toe 60 and the tabs 46, 48 spring outward in the direction shown by arrow “D” to a latched position such as illustrated in FIG. 4. This action allows the arms 12, 14 to travel in the direction of arrow “C” in FIG. 4.

Also seen in FIG. 6 is a base member cover 62 that has post holes 64 to receive the posts 26, 28. The cover 62 is designed to be placed over the base member 24 to cover the internal components of the latching mechanism 34. Alternatively the base member 62 can be a mirror image of base plate 24 with posts 26, 28 each being half of the total height of the assembled posts.

Preferably all components can be manufactured out of plastic to minimize material and manufacturing costs. However, one skilled in the art may produce the hanger from any suitable materials that function as described above.

Thus there has been provided a collapsible hanger that has been described in conjunction with a specific embodiment. However, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

1. A collapsible hanger comprising: a mounting frame; a gear mechanism mounted on the frame; a pair of hanger arms, each arm having a proximal end and a distal end; pivot means mounted to the frame with the proximal end of each of the arms mounted on the pivot means for allowing the arms to rotate about the pivot means from a raised position to a lowered position; and gear means on the proximal end of each of the hanger arms, the gear means operatively engaging the gear mechanism whereby movement of the gear mechanism simultaneously operates both gear means causing the arms to rotate simultaneously about the pivot means.
 2. The collapsible hanger of claim 1 and further comprising locking means for locking the arms in the raised position.
 3. The collapsible hanger of claim 2 wherein the pivot means comprise at least two pivot posts, with the proximal end of each arm mounted on one of the posts.
 4. The collapsible hanger of claim 2 wherein the locking means comprises a latch that engages the gear mechanism for allowing or prohibiting the gear mechanism to move thereby allowing the arms to rotate.
 5. The collapsible hanger of claim 4 wherein the latch locks the gear mechanism when the arms are in the raised position, and when the latch is released, the gear mechanism is released and the arms move to a lowered position by gravity applying a force to the arms.
 6. The collapsible hanger of claim 1 wherein the gear mechanism comprises a rack with gear teeth on the perimeter of the rack, and the gear means engages the gear teeth on the rack.
 7. The collapsible hanger of claim 6 wherein the gear means on each of the arms engage opposite sides of the rack, with the gear means on each of the hanger arms moving in synchronization with the movement of the rack.
 8. The collapsible hanger of claim 5 wherein the latch comprises a pair of flexible pivoting tabs, the tabs engaging a locking shoulder on the frame to keep the gear mechanism from moving when the arms are in the raised position, and disengaged from the shoulder thereby allowing the gear mechanism to move to allow the arms to rotate about the pivot means to the lowered position.
 9. A collapsible hanger comprising: a mounting frame; a pair of hanger arms, each arm having a proximal end and a distal end; pivot means mounted to the frame with the proximal end of each of the arms mounted on the pivot means for allowing the arms to rotate about the pivot means from a raised position to a lowered position; gear teeth disposed around the proximal end of the hanger arms; a rack with complementary teeth disposed about the rack which engage the gear teeth on the proximal ends of the arms in a driving relationship so that linear movement of the rack simultaneously engages and drives the gear teeth on the arms causing the arms to rotate simultaneously about the pivot means between the raised and lowered positions; and a latching mechanism connected to the rack to lock the rack in place when the arms are in the raised position and means for releasing the latching mechanism for allowing the rack to move and the arms to be dropped to the lowered position.
 10. The collapsible hanger of claim 9 wherein the pivot means comprise at least two pivot posts, with the proximal end of each arm mounted on one of the posts.
 11. The collapsible hanger of claim 9 wherein the latching mechanism comprises a pair of flexible pivoting tabs, the tabs engaging a locking shoulder on the frame to keep the rack from movement when the arms are in the raised position, and disengaged from the shoulder thereby allowing the rack to move to allow the arms to rotate about the pivot means to the lowered position. 